Social Networking Optimization
October 26th, 2007 - Posted in Social Networking |The web begins and ends with Search. Sure, there are an almost infinite number of other applications, but they all draw back to increasing a sites (and its content) innate ability to be found. I’m not just talking about Google, Yahoo etc only type search, I’m also talking about the social utilities that are ‘reconnecting’ the World Wide Web in different and smarter ways. Blogs, blogrolls, plug-ins like map mash-ups, widgets like Sphere and MyBlogLog, social networking platforms like Active Rain, Domus Consulting Groups Uber-Blog concept, Digg and Technorati, RSS Information Aggregation (like Google Reader)… all social utilities, add to what I call Really Smart Search or: SEO + SNO (Social Networking Optimization).
Search Engine Friendly tactics implemented within ones website is almost as refined a process as the algorithms that look for them; follow some fundamental rules, sprinkle in a few insider tips and SEO is bestowed upon your site. Today, like right now, SNO is starting to look to as important, possibly even more so within the real estate and mortgage verticals. They’re both cottage industries who are built and have depended on social networking principles and processes as a core of their business models; SNO is part of their DNA.
The MLS has long served as the social networking component for Realtors, which is why they’ve been able to maintain their existence.
IMHO thats the only reason MLS’s (proper) aren’t just disappearing, their main purpose (is) was to communicate inter-broker compensation offers. This task could easily be maintained by independent agents using the host of social utilities currently available in the marketplace today, and most are free.
The landscape is full of alternative listing services, I believe simply starting another database then recruiting agents (and consumers) to participate is pretty short-sighted…besides Trulia and Zillow pretty much have this nailed down, not to mention they’ve got some nice SNO strategies working (See Trulia Voices and Zillow Discussions). These two companies remind me of the current Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD horse race…The only difference seems to come down to brand loyalty. I’ve even seen the first mash-up, a player that reads both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD formats.
An interesting discussion thread would center around exactly how to ‘Optimize’ and refine ones Social Networking strategies for best case results. It’s still a pretty raw concept with alot of moving parts, though not nearly as difficult to understand or implement as SEO, at least not yet.
SEO is about getting people to find your content, SNO is about giving people the ability to distribute your content for you.
Both are vital for success in the online real estate and mortgage verticals.
Also See:
FoREM for a snapshot on where and how SNO is being implemented to varying degrees of effectiveness.
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At some point SNO will become as relevant as SEO but it seems to me that this is a little bit down the road. Not sure why you say that it is not as difficult to implement or understand as compared to SEO? At this point I would say quite the opposite as there are no concrete strategies regarding SNO…Unless I am missing something??
Great statement and question.
Re: ‘not as difficult to implement or understand as compared to SEO’
We’ve needed programmers and developers on a very high level to interpret search engines’ ‘unknown’ algorithms so strategies may be built around them in an almost reverse engineer fashion. There are also books, software, and entire businesses built around ‘how to SEO’.
SNO strategies that one could read in a book don’t exist yet, mainly because the concepts haven’t been around long enough for the broad level discussions that foster above mentioned type of specific ‘how to’ material.
There are great reads aplenty from some of the innovators and pioneers who are ‘working’ the SoNet aspects of the web to yield very effective results, of which increased site SEO is the primary benefit. It won’t be long before there are canned versions of tweaking the SoNet web for greater SEO, thus greater traffic.
One last point: While SEO is all about math, SNO is more organic in nature…
I’ll include some examples of the who’s, how’s, and whys in the next post.
I will look forward to reading your next post regarding this topic
Jeff, I like the concept of SNO. Google just launched Google Open Social
Looking forward to more of your thoughts on SNO…
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